April 26, 1847 - 167 years-ago today, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod was founded. Carl Walther was born October 25, 1811, in the Kingdom of Saxony, part of present-day Germany. A student of theology at the University of Leipzig, he became a minister in 1837. Believing the words of Martin Luther more closely followed Holy Scripture, he fell out of favor with local officials, & along with hundreds of others, he came to America in 1839. He settled in Perry County, Missouri until May 1841, when he was called to be minister of his late brothers congregation at Trinity Lutheran Church in St Louis. With Walther at the forefront, 12 pastors representing 14 congregations from Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, New York and Ohio, signed the church body’s constitution on April 26, 1847, at First Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Chicago, Ill. Walther served as its first president, from 1847 to 1850 and again from 1864 to 1878. In his forty years of involvement in the church, Walther held several positions, including that of president of Concordia Seminary, which had been founded at Perry County, Missouri in 1838, & would later become Concordia Theological Seminary. They also operate Concordia College & the Concordia Publishing House. Carl Walther would die in St Louis on May 7, 1887. Originally named The German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States, the name was shortened to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in 1947 on the occasion of their 100th anniversary. Representing over 2.75 million members in more than 60 countries, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod is the eighth largest Protestant denomination and the second-largest Lutheran body in the U.S. Their Headquarters is located on Kirkwood Road & I-44. Photo: Carl Walther; International Headquarters, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Posted on: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 05:03:53 +0000
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